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On February 7, All Elite Wrestling held its second rally to announce more of its roster and to begin rolling out matches for the Double or Nothing PPV — in some ways a follow-up event to All In, but also the first event officially branded under the AEW banner.
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Whether they’re officially announced or only hinted at, we have a decent sense that we will be getting Kenny Omega vs. Chris Jericho, Hangman Page vs. Pac, and The Young Bucks vs. The Lucha Brothers in Las Vegas. But what additional bouts are still to come?
There may be more intrigue around current WWE performers than anyone else. It has been established AEW has deep enough pockets to compete with WWE salaries, and given the number of talents who, at least in the eyes of hardcore fans, are underutilized on Raw and SmackDown.
So who do we want to see roll into Double or Nothing from WWE’s current ranks? This article takes a look at five key acts, with a focus on not only performers who seem likely to jump ship, and who would be intriguing in an AEW setting, but also ones who look as though they really might make that move.
#5 Finn Balor
When AEW first started generating some buzz about starting its own national promotion, one of the first names that hardcore fans speculated about them stealing from WWE was Finn Balor.
Yes, Balor is an exceptional talent and, yes, there’s a pretty compelling argument that WWE has underused him since his 2016 injury, keeping him mostly lost in the upper mid-card shuffle.
On top of that, though, Balor had risen to international stardom in New Japan leading the Bullet Club. That history provided him organic tie-ins to the masterminds behind AEW—Cody Rhodes and The Young Bucks—who had come together first under the Bullet Club banner.
WWE has teased the Balor Club as a faction throughout Balor’s run, dating back to his time in NXT, but it has never amounted to more than a nickname for his fans, and on and off loose affiliation with Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson.
It's possible that the choice to push Balor as a challenger to Brock Lesnar at the Royal Rumble was, in part, based on trying to placate him.
It may have been too little too late, as Balor has taken to social media posting photos of himself with AEW talent, and rumors continue to swirl about him making the move when he’s contractually able.
#4 The Revival
The Revival was the talk of NXT as an old school, great tag team.
While acts like American Alpha, #DIY, and The Authors of Pain may have been flashier in their own ways, and more clearly destined for the main roster, Dash and Dawson were the rocks of the tag team division in developmental who put on terrific matches based on hard work and traditional wrestling psychology.
Since moving up to Raw, The Revival have mostly floundered. They were not taken seriously as tag title contenders, even when the division was at its weakest. Rumors suggest their most recent push is based largely on them asking for their release, ostensibly to head over to AEW.
Will The Revival’s success in the last few weeks—and potentially moving forward—convince them stay put?
AEW already looks to have more of a commitment to tag team wrestling with The Young Bucks as not only talents, but executives, and with signings of The Lucha Brothers, Best Friends, and SCU.
It could be a lot of fun for fans to Dash and Dawson cut loose in the ring opposite tag team talent of this caliber, in an environment where they’re respected.
#3 Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe has largely been a success story in WWE. It was a legitimate shocker when he walked out to join the NXT roster, given what many had presumed to be his permanent status as one of the biggest stars to never work with WWE.
From there, he exceeded initial expectations that he’d be an NXT mainstay to help prepare other talents—instead, becoming an NXT Champion, en route to the main roster himself.
Even Joe’s main roster run has, in many ways, overachieved, including him working the main event and world title matches with Brock Lesnar, Roman Reigns, and AJ Styles.
For all of this success, though, Joe has remained the kind of talent who WWE has never gone all the way with, and who remains on the bubble for getting a meaningful match at WrestleMania.
At 39 years old, Joe may well be entering the twilight of his full-time wrestling career. It could be intriguing to see him jump ship to work with talent more in tune with his aesthetic, as well as old friends like Christopher Daniels in AEW.
To make matters better, while he may not have been a champion on WWE’s main roster, the exposure has added to his legacy and undeniably made him a bigger star on his way out the door.
#2 Dean Ambrose
One of the biggest news bombshells to come out of the wrestling world in early 2019 has been that Dean Ambrose has declined a new contract and will head out of WWE this spring. The fact that WWE has, uncharacteristically, publicly verified this news has raised some suspicions as to whether it’s a worked shoot.
For now, though, if we take it at face value, it seems that Ambrose tired of WWE’s creative, as well as the company travel schedule, and is leaving.
Ambrose could be a compelling fit for AEW as a legit top star of wrestling, but also a guy who never seemed entirely comfortable in WWE’s more family-friendly environment. In a company that caters more to his hardcore sensibilities, and entails a lighter schedule, Ambrose could fit nicely as a major player in the new AEW.
Dream matches with Pentagon, Kenny Omega, and others await him and could be a lot of fun, particularly for fans who first became familiar with him in WWE, and will be getting an introduction to Jon Moxley.
#1 Randy Orton
If there’s a talent working in the wrestling business today who seems wedded to WWE over any other company, not named John Cena or Roman Reigns, it would probably be Randy Orton.
His family pedigree got him through the door at WWE at a young age and he trained in the company's system. He has gone on to be multi-time world champion and WrestleMania main eventer over the course of a fifteen year-plus tenure with the company.
The latest rumors, however, suggest that Orton is open to talks with AEW.
The idea of Orton jumping ship may come totally out of left field were it not for his relationship with Cody Rhodes, as the two are noted to be personal friends and have had complimentary things to say about one another interviews.
Additionally, it has been widely reported that Orton is looking for a more part-time schedule, and the conventional wisdom is that if the number dates or salary is compelling enough, he wouldn’t rule out the move.
Most wrestling companies would have a prayer of offering Orton anything like the money he’s making in WWE, but based on Chris Jericho’s claim that he is scored his most lucrative contract to date with the company, anything now seems possible.
